Spacecraft designed to study the effects of delayed solar storms due to solar storms

NASA’s action The mission, designed to study the effects of the solar wind on the Martian atmosphere, was ironically delayed on the launch pad due to a solar storm affecting conditions on Earth.

ESCAPADE, which stands for Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, was scheduled for takeoff Nov. 12 aboard a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket. But due to the explosion it was rescheduled to 13 November.The surface of the Sun which could damage the spacecraft.

known as coronal mass ejectionThese huge explosions hurl huge clouds of charged particles from the Sun’s surface out and into space at tremendous speeds. This week, one of these blobs was aimed toward Earth, giving people in the Northern Hemisphere a spectacular display of the aurora, or northern lights, in the evening. November 11. LeeThe jets are created when certain particles are forced into our upper atmosphere near the poles by Earth’s magnetic field, causing the air to glow like a giant neon sign.

However, despite their beauty from the ground, those electrified solar particles can interfere with a spacecraft’s electronic circuits, potentially putting it out of service, which is why the launch was delayed until the space storm passed. Ironically, the two ESCAPADE spacecraft aboard the rocket are designed to study the exact effects of solar eruptions, but on Mars instead of here on Earth.

One of the biggest mysteries about the Red Planet is what happened to its atmosphere. Evidence from spacecraft in orbit and on the surface has shown that about three billion years ago, Mars was warm and wet with rivers, lakes, and possibly an ocean on its surface. This makes it likely that life may have originated there, although signs of past life have not yet been found.

Since that warm period, Mars’ atmosphere has thinned to about 1/1000th that of Earth, turning the entire planet into the cold dry desert world we see today.

Look ESCAPADE heading to Mars:

Scientists believe that certain factors may have contributed to the loss of Mars’ atmosphere. First of all, its huge volcanoes, largest in the solar systembecame cool, so the atmosphere was not being replenished from within the planet. secondsAdditionally, its magnetic field became very weak and spotty, allowing the solar wind to penetrate deep into the atmosphere, breaking up air molecules and scattering them into space.

We are lucky on Earth to have active volcanoes to nourish our atmosphere and a strong magnetic field that acts as a shield for us.Protect us from solar activity.

Escapade includes two orbiting spacecraft Which will monitor solar activity and its effect on the Martian atmosphere to determine how fast the atmosphere is being destroyed today. This could have implications for future Mars astronauts who would be exposed to increased solar radiation while on the surface.

Mars is probably not the only planet that has suffered this misfortune of losing its atmosphere. Netherlands scientists An extremely powerful solar explosion has been detected He happened to be on another star. This coronal mass ejection was hundreds of times stronger and denser than the ejection coming from our side Sun, and had enough impact to completely strip a planet of its atmosphere.

The star is a red dwarf, smaller and fainter than our Sun but with a more powerful magnetic field. Given that these are the most common stars in the galaxy, it stands to reason that their atmospheres could also be stripped from other nearby planets. If so, it will reducePossibilities of finding life outside our solar system. Further research may determine how often these superstorms occur.

This proves once again that we live in an incredibly small oasis of life in an incredibly violent universe.